ABOUT EVERETT RICE

Everett Rice joined the U.S. Maritime Service at 18 years old. During his four years as a seaman, Everett served in Southeast Asia transporting military supplies to Vietnam.

At 23 years old, Everett became a Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputy.

In 18 years at the Sheriff’s Office Everett was promoted to, and he served in every rank, up through chief of detectives.

After Everett left the Sheriff’s Office to attend law school, the Sheriff’s Office developed a reputation of brutality, corruption and incompetence.

When Everett was elected Pinellas Sheriff in 1988, he reformed the Sheriff’s Office and it soon gained a reputation for professionalism and advances in technology. He merged six municipal police departments into the Sheriff’s Office -- providing huge tax savings to those cities while providing a high level of professional police service to those cities.

As Chairman of the Florida Sheriffs Association Legislative Committee, and as the President of the Florida Sheriffs Association, Everett earned his reputation for being tough on crime by authoring the popular Stop Turning Out Prisoners Act that would ensure criminals spend at least 85% of their sentences behind bars. While many Florida politicians said that it could not be done, Sheriff Rice rolled up his sleeves and went to work.

During Everett’s law enforcement career he served on many boards and received many awards. Everett is a graduate of both the FBI National Academy and the FBI National Executive Institute. In 2004, after four successful terms as Sheriff, Everett left the office and became a member of the Florida Legislature.

Everett co-authored and co-sponsored the Jessica Lunsford Act, which created the nation's toughest penalties for sexual predators.

When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that local governments could seize private property and sell it for private use, Everett began the fight to change Florida law to protect our property rights. Now, Florida law prohibits government from seizing land for economic reasons.

In 2006 Everett left the Legislature and for the past four years he has worked as an attorney with Barry A. Cohen at the law firm Cohen, Foster & Romine PA.

When it became clear recently that Sheriff Coats would not seek re-election, Everett received many calls from people inside and outside the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office urging him to run again.

Everett knows that there are many professionals at the Sheriff’s Office. In order to meet the needs of the future, Everett plans to rebuild the office with the teamwork of these dedicated employees.

Everett’s proven record as the Sheriff of this county for sixteen years, coupled with his service as a legislator and as a private attorney, has given him the unique qualifications and perspective to fill the position of Sheriff.

Thank you for your support, and Everett would be honored to earn your vote.

PUBLIC SERVICE